Handle assembly



Get 21, 1969 K D, SCHREYER ET AL 3,473,187

HANDLE ASSEMBLY Filed June 8, 1967 IN 'E.\' T ()RS KENNETH D. SCHREYER LEONARD R.CLARK BY 3 US. Cl. 16-125 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A handle having a hand-grip with deformable lugs at each end of the hand-grip. The lugs are adapted to extend through apertures in a member to which the handle is to be secured so that portions of the hand-grip bear against the outside surface of this member while the lugs, upon deformation, bear against the inside surface of this member.

The present invention relates, in general, to furniture hardware and, in particular, to a handle for drawers, trays, slides and the like. It will be readily apparent, however, that a handle constructed in accordance with the present invention also has application on doors as well as on other members which are pulled or slide.

Much of the office furniture which is commercially available at the present time fails to satisfy concurrently the requirements of attractive appearance, capability to withstand rigorous use, and low cost. Normally, the cost of oflice furniture is higher than desirable. Among the factors which contribute to the high cost are an excessive number of steps in the assembly of the furniture and the large number of component parts required for the particular item.

The present invention solves this cost problem to a certain extent in that it provides a simple and inexpensive arrangement for handles which are mounted on members which are pulled or slide. One of the more common approaches to mounting a handle on a drawer or similar part is to provide two tapped holes in the handle which receive a pair of screws passed through the drawer front from the inside. It is quite common to provide a Washer between the underside of the screw head and the inside surface of the drawer front. As a result, the assembly of this unit requires drilling and tapping two holes in the handle, passing a washer over the screw body, passing the screw through the drawer front and inserting the screw into the handle. In addition, four parts, namely, two screws and two washers, are employed in securing the handle to the drawer. This arrangement, while providing a firm and secure mounting of the handle on the drawer, is quite costly,

Various other arrangements employing, for example, rivets or other fastening devices, also are being used at the present time to mount handles on drawers and similar members. Generally, those approaches which result in economical units fail to provide a sufficiently rigid and secure mechanical connection between the handle and the member upon which it is mounted. On the other hand, when the handle is properly mounted for repeated and rigorous use, the costs involved are higher than desirable.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved handle for drawers, trays, slides, doors and other members which are pulled or slide.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a handle which may be fabricated at low cost and requires no additional parts for it to be mounted on a drawer or similar member.

It is a further object of the present invention to pronited States Patent 3,473,l87 Patented Oct. 21, 1969 "ice vide a handle which is not subject to the limitations and shortcomings of presently available comparable components.

Briefly, these objects, as well as others, are achieved according to the present invention by providing a handle which has a hand-grip portion arranged to be gripped by the human hand and which has at least one bearing region adapted to abut against a surface of a member, such as a drawer, to which the handle is to be secured. In addition, this handle is provided with at least one deformable lug which is secured to the bearing region. This lug is adapted to extend through an aperture in the member upon which the handle is to be mounted so that the lug may be deformed to bear against an opposite surface from the surface against which the bearing region abuts.

For a better understanding of the present invention, together with other and further objects thereof, reference is made to the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, and its scope will be pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring to the drawing:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a handle constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the manner in which the handle of FIGURE 1 is mounted upon a drawer; and

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view, partially broken away and taken from an opposite direction to FIGURE 2, showing the handle of FIGURE I mounted upon a drawer.

Referring to FIGURES 1, 2 and 3, a handle 10 constructed in accordance with the present invention has a hand-grip portion 12 and a pair of deformable lugs 14a and 14b. The hand-grip has a pair of bearing regions 16a and 16b which are adapted to abut against a surface of a member to which the handle is to be secured, for example, a drawer 20. Extending between bearing regions 16a and 16b is a central region which is adapted to be spaced from the front of drawer 20 when the handle is mounted on the drawer. The cross-section of the handle is generally C-shaped. As a result, the handle and, in particular, the central region of the hand-grip may be gripped by a human hand.

Each of the deformable lugs 14a and 14b is secured to one of the bearing regions 16:: and 1612. These lugs extend away from the bearing regions in a direction perpendicular to the surfaces which abut against drawer 20 and are adapted to extend through a pair of apertures 22a and 22b in the drawer. For the particular construction shown in FIGURES 1, 2 and 3, the hand-grip portion and the lugs are an integral unit.

Handle 10 is mounted on drawer 20 in the following manner. Lugs 14a and 14b are passed through apertures 22a and 22b, respectively. Next, the lugs are twisted, as shown in FIGURE 3 for lug 14a, so that they bear against the inside surface of the drawer front. The twisting of lugs 14a and 14b is achieved through the use of a pair of conventional pliers or a special tool if the design of the handle and the drawer warrants such a tool. Recesses 24a and 23b permit a tool to be fitted snugly against the lugs to permit a twist which results in the handle being tightly secured to the drawer.

While there has been described what is at present considered to be the preferred embodiment of this invention, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the investion and it is, therefore, aimed to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

3 4 What is claimed is: abutting against said first surface, each of said bear- 1. A handle assembly comprising: ing regions having a continuous, uninterrupted lug a member having an aperture extending between first extending away from said bearing regions and and second surfaces thereof; through said apertures in said member with a portion of each of said lugs projecting beyond said and a handle having a hand-grip arranged to be gripped second surface of said member, each of said lugs by a human hand and spaced from said first surface of said member, said handle also having a bearing having a cross-sectional dimension which is greater region abutting against said first surface and a conthan a cross-sectional dimension of its associated tinuous, uninterrupted lug extending away from said aperture, said portions of said lugs projecting bebearing region and through said aperture in said 10 yond said second surface twisted about their longimember with a portion of said lug projecting beyond tudinal axes to orient said cross-sectional dimensions said second surface of said member, said lug having of said lugs into alignment with said cross-sectional a cross-sectional dimension which is greater than a dimensions of their associated apertures and bearing cross-sectional dimension of said aperture, said poragainst said second surface.

tion of said lug projecting beyond said second sur- 15 References Cited face twisted about its longitudinal axis to orient said cross-sectional dimension of said lug into alignment UNITED STATES PATENTS with said cross-sectional dimension of said aperture 1,618,279 2/1927 Fedders 29513 and bearing against said second surface. 2,352,454 6/1944 Schellenger et a1. 295 13 2. A handle assembly according to claim 1 wherein 20 2,434,630 1/1948 Van Rosen 16-11l said aperture and said lug are rectangular in cross-section. 3,190,250 6/1965 Hinden 29513 3. A handle assembly comprising: a member having a pair of apertures extending be- BOBBY R. GAY, Primary Examiner tween first and Surfaces time; DORIS L TROUTMAN Assistant Examiner and a handle having a hand-grip arranged to be gripped 25 by a human hand and spaced from said first surface L of said member, said handle also having a pair of 29 513 bearing regions at opposite ends of said hand-grip 

